Know Who I Am
by ScribblesOfALibra
Summary: (multi-chapter Brallie AU) Brandon's just a boy in high school that loves his mothers, but doesn't believe romance can exist in high school. In comes Callie, a gorgeous new student, and he learns that all his preconceptions about people might just not be true.
1. Pretty, Dumb Girls

_Author's Note: This is my new multi-chapter Fosters AU. It's Brallie. If you guys like this chapter, I will continue. Leave me feedback and tell me if you'd like to be a character!_

Brandon rested his head on his palm glancing out the window of his mom's clunker of minivan, watching as the school approached. He was 17, but his hopeless hand eye coordination resulted in him being the only junior that was driven to school. As the vehicle lurched to a stop in front of the building, he grabbed his tattered navy messenger bag and kissed his dark-haired mother, Lena, goodbye on the cheek before heading into the school with his normal slouched stance. He was tall and lanky for his age, but his faded flannel and dark jeans caused him to hide in the sea of colors students at his school sported, hoping to garner the attention of theit 'one true love'.  
Brandon scoffed mentally as he watched a choir student practically pull down her already plunging v-neck as she attempted to make conversation with an already preoccupied basketball champion. Teenagers, he'd long ago decided, new nothing about love. They were just a rush of hormones, lust, and limerance...any feelings they supposedly had was obviously a thing of fiction. He saw the way his moms, Lena and Stef, seemed to live in perfect sync, with the physicial replationship being minor, and knew that that's how love wa meant to work. It was meant to be a thing of understanding, of pure caring with reason for no reason at all.  
Maybe this was pessimistic of him, and maybe he felt this way because he'd never had any sort of romantic entanglement, but seeing the sickly portrayal of threadbare relationships forming and breaking constantly around him, he had no reason to test whether a high school girlfriend could go beyond lust. Brandon glanced at his reflection in a nearby girl's locker mirror and was reminded that even if he wanted to land a date with someone, he was practically a nobody in the hierarchy of school and no girl had ever found him to be any semblance of attractive. He just floated around, with aquaitances here and there, but no real group of friends he could call his own. And he'd like to think he was fine the way he was, thank you very much.  
Shaking these over analytical thoughts out of his head, Brandon grabbed the necessary textbooks from his locker and found his way to his favorite and first class of the day, Pyschology and Sociology. Few people took the class, due to the insane course load, but Brandon loved nothing more than learning about the human psych.  
He located an empty desk somewhat near the rear of the classroom, away from the neandrathals causing a racket in the front. As he slipped into his chair, the bell rang and students mulled about, dejectedly taking thier own seats. Strangely, Mr. Bradley, their always on point teacher was missing from the classroom. He was known for being a stickler on time, and him being tardy was as a strange as could be. Brandon shuffled his homework, unsure what to do as the rest of the class murmured rumors, theorzing the reason for Mr. Bradley's untimely absence. Just as students began to plan class riots due to the lack of a teacher, the door to room opened and in walked Mr. Bradley followed closely by what seemed to be new student. The elusive new student, evidently female, wasn't visible from Brandon's vantage point as the guys in front of him got up and shamelessly wolf whistled. Wondering at what kind of skankily dressed whore had joined the ranks of their class today, Brandon craned to catch a glimpse at this new girl.  
Brandon leaned back and rolled his eyes. He was sure he'd hear about her soon enough if she was worth this much of a ruckus. As he leaned down to pull out his textbook from his bag, suddently skinny jean clad legs came into view and he heard a soft Australian accent question him, "Is this seat taken?"  
Popping his head up in surprise, he was surprsied to see to see a stranger, the new girl he figured, gesturing to the desk on his right. He nodded, and couldn't help but stare. She was not, after all, clad in makeup and revealing clothing. She wad dressed simply, a lavendar button down, jeans, and white converse. Contrasting with her shirt, dark brown curls framed her face and brought out her chocolate brown eyes. Damn it, she was kind of beautiful.  
And for once the moronoic guys in the front had it right. This new girl had curves that he could trace with his eyes and lips the color of summer fruit. She was her in such close proximity, the rest of the hour was blur. He learned nothing about chapter 6, but knew that this new dark haired vixen was to be called Callie.  
He walked out of the classroom and scolded huimself. Not only did he learn nothing for an entire hour, but he'd fallen victim to the prowess of physical beauty. What a hypocrite he was.  
Brandon strolled to the gymnasium for his next class, and on the way he noticed the exotic Callie hanging of the arm of resident rebel and heartbreaker, Wyatt. How did Brandon even oercieve her as beautiful? Of course she was another airheaded female pushover.  
He took out his ipod and put on his headphones, blocking out the awful world filled with dumb girls who were pretty but never special. He closed his eyes and sat on the gym bleachers, bobbing his head to the tune of Iron Maiden.

_A/N: Not sure if I want to continue. Feedback? The good, bad, and ugly are fine, as long as you're not downright rude. Thanks for the read!_


	2. Keds and Two Socks

_A/N: hey. so yeah, this is short. but hey, better something than nothing? thanks for the feedback, i love that you guys love it!_

The rest of Brandon's school day went without a hitch, and by the time the final bell signaled the end of the day, he had practically forgotten about the mysterious new student as he had yet to see her again. He slipped out the school's back door, and began his daily stroll to the Attic, a nearby hipster-esque coffee nook connected to a quirky book store where he loved doing homework and grabbing a snack. If he chose to go home right after school, he'd be bombarded by the twins and Jude who begged for attention. He couldn't blame them, they were only elementary school and their world revolved around fun and games.  
The Attic allowed him to chill out, and he always met the most interesting people. He loved learning about other people's lives as it fascinated him that people could be so incredibly unique, unlike the painfully boring and uniform student body at school. Brandon ducked to avoid hitting his head on the top of the too short, cherry red door and smiled at Bianca, a 43 year old widow that ran the unique little store who he happened to have a close relationship with after three years of constantly showing up here after school. Bianca was unexpectedly vivacious, contrasting with the dark wood, clunky mugs, and local college poets that filled The Nook's booths. She had a wide smile that made you want to laugh at jokes never told framed by firetruck resembling lipgloss, which was nothing compared to the shades of blue eyeshadow she sported on a daily basis. A green plaid apron protected her loud, Aztec patterned dress and matched her emerald green headband perfectly, which kept her sholder legnth dark curls away from her face, allowing you to see her dangling, beaded oriental earrings.  
After spending countless days sitting on a stool near the counter she worked at, Brandon had learned a lot about this woman. Bianca had grown up in a Hispanic/Italian household with 13 other girls an one overshadowed little baby brother, moved out and gone to beauty school. While working a part time job, she met the love of her life, Navy Seal Jared. They had a whirlwind romance, married young, and she was pregnant at 22. Jared had unepectedly left her for another woman and soon died in a naval accident. Bianca later recieved news that her child had died in the womb. Depressed from the overhwelming negativity swirling around her, she turned to cutting and drugs for an out. Just as she reached the brin of her downwards spiral, an old childhood friend assisted her in getting help. After getting treated for her depression and other issues, she learned to seek out the lights in life. Inspired, she soon went back to school, this time for business, carefully invested in stocks, and soon had what it took the start up The Attic, a place she loved as she decided to better appreciate the people around her.  
Brandon loved the stories Bianca told, because she'd lived such a life and had so much to say, and admired the way she lived. Her experiences further solidified his belief that romantic love was rare, and it was better to just love life. Love was a stupid, silly thing that just built itself up for disappointment in the end. He walked over to Bianca, who promptly pinched his cheek, a routine ever since she saw how red his face would get when she did so. " What can I get you today, Brahh-ndun?" she said, slightly accented.  
"Could I have a chili pepper hot chocolate and a mini pistachio scone?"  
"Of course hun. Can I interesting you trying my experimental dish of the day?"  
"Is that ever a question?" he smiled, used to daily occurence.  
She grinned widely, "You're in luck today, sweets. I decided chocolate-peppermint fudge was well overdue."  
Bianca bustled back into the depths of the Attic kitchenette, hurrying back with a steaming mug and a bright yellow plate full of pastries. Brandon slipped his payment and his constantly generous tip onto the counter, and grabbed his order. Nodding goodbye to Bianca, he decided to sit in one of the red velvet booths tucked in the back today. He was quite the sight, hands full with his messenger back and food, and could barely balance his belongings. As he headed for the back, he noted the emptiness of The Attic this evening. Perfect. He loved being alone here, able to enjoy the light Coldplay playing as he read or studied or ate, minus the clutter and noise of others eating and chatting around him. Without a second glance, he placed everything weighing him down on the table of the booth he knew the location without looking due to his numerous visits here.  
Brandon slipped into the seat, but before he could even get comfortable, he realized that the booth was not, after all, empty as he had presumed. His eyes winded and he almost knocked over his drink as he suddenly sat up.  
Across from him was none other than Callie. She raised his eyebrows at him and smirked as he stared in shock, taking her in. Here was Callie, slouching with her legs on the table, donned in a Beatles shirt, knee high striped socks, and Keds. Keds and two socks. Her hair was up in a bun, glasses rested on her face, and clutched within her fingers was . She was reading fucking transcendalist literature, on her own, in his favorite place in the world, and right in front of him. What was going on, and when had the tables turned so?

_A/N: so whadya think? more? what do you think will happen? as you can tell, the AU really came into play this chapter with mariana and jesus being much, much younger. hope that's alright, but too late anyways L o L. _


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